Pipe and valve systems are prevalent and can be found in various systems, such as hot water heaters, air conditioning systems, pipeline systems, large municipal water supply systems, and small high pressure steam lines to name a few examples. Occasionally, the pipes in these and other systems have to be disconnected to gain access to areas inside the pipes, to install new or additional pipes (or equipment such as valves, meters, regulators and filters), and/or to replace or repair existing pipes (or other equipment).
The pipes are often disconnected from each other at flange joints. A pipe flange is a disc, collar, or ring that is attached to the end of a pipe, often through welding or screwing, for the purpose of providing increased support for strength or for joining. A flange joint is a connection or joining of pipes that have flanges (pipe flanges), usually by bolting the flanges together.
Two pipes having flanges are joined at a flange joint by placing their pipe flanges against each other and aligning openings (attachment holes) located in the flanges, passing bolts through the attachment holes, and tightening the bolts. Often, the bolts are tightened with such force as to cause the flanges to stick together (bond) even after the bolts are removed. This bonding or adhering is often exacerbated by the use of gaskets or sealants (made of paper, asbestos, formed soft metal, caulk, rubber or various other materials) introduced between flanges for the purpose of providing a tighter seal. Further, the flanges, gaskets, or sealants corrode over time and increase the bonding force between flanges, even after the bolts are removed. All of these bonding forces make separation of pipe flanges very difficult.
To overcome these forces, hydraulic separators or wedges (such as chisels, screw drivers, or pry bars) have been used in the past to pry or force pipe flanges apart. These devices are used to separate pipe flanges by breaking the bond between them through lateral separation. However, sometimes pipe flanges cannot be separated using such lateral separation, because for example, the connected pipes may be wedged in between two walls so that there is no space to pry them apart. Other conditions which inhibit lateral separation of pipe flanges include connected pipes in valve pits, long pipelines, or tight complex pipe systems. Further, the use of hydraulic separators and wedges in such conditions can often damage the pipes or flanges.
Pipes also can carry flammable gases and liquids (such as fuel). Thus, sometimes for safety reasons, it is necessary and desirable to separate such pipes without resorting to hammering or pounding on the flanges to break the bond between them, in order to avoid creating sparks.
In the past, pipe flange alignment tools, such as ENERPAC ATM-Series flange alignment tools, have been used to apply small transverse forces to align pipe flanges to join the pipes. However, these alignment tools are very expensive and the prior art does not teach, disclose, or suggest using them for the purpose of separating pipe flanges, even though they apply transverse forces to pipe flanges. Further, these alignment tools do not provide a means to prevent longitudal slippage of the device when it is used on a sloping or irregular surface, because longitudinal slippage is not a problem when applying the small transverse forces necessary to align pipe flanges for joining.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive, compact, portable device that can separate pipe flanges that are wedged together in tight spaces without causing damage to the pipes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device that can separate pipe flanges without the need for any hammering or pounding on the flanges.
It is further object of the present invention to provide a device that can apply a finely tunable transverse force to a specific area of a pipe flange so as to avoid damage to the flange and pipe.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a device that can prevent longitudal slippage of the device when used on sloping or irregular surfaces.